Slam+Poetry

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Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh Grade Viking Warrior

This poem talked about Mr. Mali's experience with a child that had cancer in his class. At the beginning of the poem, he talks a little bit about vikings, so the audience or reader will understand the poem better. He talks about how when a brave Viking Warrior dies, he is put in his ship and cast out to sea, his ship in flames. When the boy who had cancer came back to school with no hair, all the other boys in the class shaved their heads too, so they would look the same, be equal, and so the one boy wouldn't feel left out. When the boy died, they all attended his funeral, and stood around while the viking ship he built during a class project was set on fire, since he was equivalent to a viking warrior.

I think the overall theme of this poem is that there are many different ways to be great. There are many different ways to be brave, to be strong, whether you're a viking warrior or a seventh grade student. Tony Steinberg wasn't an actual warrior, but he fought his way through cancer, and fought all the challenges that accompanied the disease. He was great and strong just like vikings were, and his classmates were supported and unionized, just like vikings would have been; they were there for one another.

I chose this poem because it really spoke to me and make me think. It's horrible that cancer would take someone so young, and that they would have to experience that. I really liked the way the poem was written; it was very well structured. At the beginning he explained some things about vikings that the audience or reader would need to know later in the poem, and it was ended very well, with the last lines reading: It's a beautiful sight. And almost as striking as 12 boys six weeks later, now with crew cuts on a Saturday morning, outside the synagogue with heads bowed, holding hands and standing in a circle around the smoldering remains of a miniature Viking ship, the soul of the brave warrior rising slowly with the smoke.

There were quite a few poetic devices used in this poem, such as metaphors, imagery, and symbolism. The model Viking Ship burning up at the end of the poem is symbolic for the classmates honouring Tony, by tributing him the way Vikings would have when they lost a brave warrior. "He died with his sword in his hand and so went straight to heaven, which the Vikings called Valhalla" is a metaphor for Tony going straight to heaven, like vikings, because he was a warrior and died fighting his own personal battle, cancer. An example of imagery from the poem is "A God of perfect points and planes, Surrounded by angels and angles of all different degrees."

Tony Steinberg: Seventh Grade Viking Warrior- By Taylor Mali

Have you ever seen a Viking ship made out of popsicle sticks And balsa wood? With tiny coils of brown thread for ropes, Sixteen oars made out of chopsticks, and a red and yellow sail made from a baby's footie pajamas? I have. He died with his sword in his hand and so went straight to heaven. The Vikings sometimes buried their bravest warriors in ships. Or set them adrift and on fire, a floating island of flames. The soul of the brave warrior rising slowly with the smoke. To understand life in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, You must understand the Viking ship. So here is the assignment: The class must build me a miniature Viking ship. You have a month. And you must all work together. Like warriors. These projects are what I'm known for as a teacher. Like the Egyptian Pyramid Project. Have you ever seen a family of four standing around a card table after dinner, each one holding one triangular side of a miniature pyramid until the glue dried? I haven't either, but Mrs. Steinberg said it took 90 minutes, and even with the little brother on one side saying, This is dumb! This is a stupid pyramid, Tony! You're going to fail this project. If I get Mr. Mali next year, my pyramid is going to be much better than this! And Tony on the other side saying, Shut up! Shut up! You little %#@! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Keep holding your side or I swear I'll kill you after the glue dries! It was the best family time they'd spent together since Christmas. He died with his sword in his hand and so went straight to heaven, which the Vikings called Valhalla. Mr. Mali, if that's true, that you would go straight to Valhalla if you died with your sword in your hand, then if you were an old Viking and you were about to die of old age, could you keep your sword right by your bed so if you felt like you were going to die you could reach out and grab it? I don't know if their gods would fall for that, but it sounds like a good idea to me. Tony was out for a month before we heard what was wrong. And the 12 boys left whispered the name of the disease as if you could catch it from saying it too loud. We'd been warned. The Middle School Head had come to class And said Tony was coming to school on Friday. But he's had a rough time. The medication he's taking has made all his hair fall out, and he's a little shy about it. So don't stare, don't point, don't laugh. I always said I liked teaching in a private school Because I could talk about God And not be breaking the law. And for an Episcopalian kid who only went to church On Christmas and Easter, I sure talked about God a lot. In history of course, that's easy, Even the Egyptian Pyramid Project is essentially a spiritual exercise. But how can you study geometry and not believe in a God? A God of perfect points and planes, Surrounded by angels and angles of all different degrees. Such a God wouldn't give cancer to a seventh grade boy. Wouldn't make his hair fall out from the chemo. Totally bald in a jacket and tie on Friday morning. And I don't mean Tony. Not one single boy in my class had hair; the other 12 had shaved their heads in solidarity. Have you ever seen 13 bald-headed seventh grade boys, all pointing at each other, all staring, all laughing? I have. It's a beautiful sight. And almost as striking as 12 boys six weeks later, now with crew cuts on a Saturday morning, outside the synagogue with heads bowed, holding hands and standing in a circle around the smoldering remains of a miniature Viking ship, the soul of the brave warrior rising slowly with the smoke.